13 Feb 2023
Professionals and members of the public have until 31 March to have their say on the new Veterinary Medicines Regulations.
Allister Webb
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Background image © klepach / Adobe Stock
Planned reforms to veterinary medicines rules in Great Britain will help to make products safer and more readily available, officials have claimed.
A consultation process has begun on the proposed changes the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has said are necessary to reflect developments in the industry.
But while the BVA has welcomed the process, a farming and horticulture industry body has urged vets to encourage producers to share antibiotic usage data following the launch of a new, Government-funded vet visit scheme.
Professionals and members of the public have been given until 31 March to have their say on the new Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMRs), following the consultation’s launch on 2 February.
The plans include a new requirement for vets directly administering medicines to a food producing animal to provide records to the owner or keeper “as soon as reasonably practical”, as well as making it a specific offence for a written prescription to be altered unless authorised by its original signatory.
The definition of POM-V medicines would also be extended to include all products used for euthanasia, plus those containing antibiotics or beta-agonists would also be classified as POM-V, alongside immunological or hormonal medications.
And vets would be given the choice of conducting a “clinical examination or other proper assessment” before prescribing POM-V medicines to an animal or group of animals under their care, in a move the directorate claims could help to reduce the burden on professionals in remote areas.
In its consultation document, the VMD said: “We consider that the changes we propose will continue to provide for the safety of veterinary medicines authorised for use in Great Britain, in relation to animals, humans and the environment.
“This will be achieved through reducing the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance, supporting safe and responsible use of veterinary medicines, and increasing our ability to take timely and targeted measures in case of concerns around safety or efficacy of active substances, or breaches of the VMR presenting a serious risk to human or animal health, or the environment.”
The VMD continued: “The changes we propose will increase access to veterinary medicines; for example, by enabling suitably qualified persons to delegate handover of medicines to a competent person and vets to prescribe remotely, where appropriate.
“We recognise that some proposed changes may increase burden, mainly through increased record-keeping requirements, but we consider these changes necessary to improve the prescribing and supply of veterinary medicines.
“Other proposed changes will improve our ability to mitigate against shortages of veterinary medicines by requiring businesses to report any current or upcoming shortages where known.”
The consultation has been welcomed by the BVA’s president Malcolm Morley, who said the group would be responding “shortly” after liaising with its division.
He added: “We’re currently reviewing the proposed changes, including any impact these could have on the RCVS under care guidance.”
The BVA has previously called for implementation of the new guidance, which is expected to take place between 1 June and the end of the year, to be delayed while the VMR review process is completed. The RCVS said it will also respond in the coming weeks.
The consultation announcement preceded the launch of a new Government initiative to fund annual veterinary review visits to livestock farms in England.
The programme, which is being rolled out following a trial period last autumn, will provide money for visits that can be used to conduct disease testing, or provide broader welfare and medicine usage advice.
Officials believe the system will help to reduce endemic diseases, and MP and vet Neil Hudson has urged farmers to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive annual health and welfare review scheme, which he said “will do an immense amount of public good”.
But while the VMR plans do not propose mandatory data collection for the use of antibiotics, arguing the progress made across sectors to this point makes it unnecessary, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) expects collection and supply of such data to become an increasingly common industrial requirement.
AHDB manages a national medicine hub to collect antibiotic data to help demonstrate responsible usage, and Gwyn Jones, chairperson of the hub’s industry governance and ownership group, believes vets participating in the visit programme should promote increased participation.
He said: “The announcement that the annual health and welfare review vet visits are being rolled out after an initial test phase is timely. Vets undertaking such visits are being encouraged to discuss sharing data with Medicine Hub when on farm and materials to support this conversation are available on the Defra vet portal.
“As interest grows within the retailer and processor sector, it is predictable that an increasing number will look to require their suppliers to gather and upload data.”
Documents for the VMR consultation are available via the Defra website.
